US Ambassador Cameron Munter has acknowledged that there was a chill
in high level meetings between Pakistan and the United States because
of Raymond Davis episode, Abbottabad incident and reports of the
WikiLeaks.
He was speaking at the Asia Society in New York on Monday along with Administrator of the USAID Dr. Rajiv Shah.
The American Ambassador said the United States had to withdraw 150
military trainers from Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa at the request of Pakistan
because of these events.
He said there is a strain in military-to-military relations but the
military leadership of the two countries is working to address the
challenge. He said there was need to have a sympathetic understanding
of the role of Pakistan Army in the fight against terror in which three
thousand Pakistani troops have lost their lives. Similarly, Pakistan
has deployed one hundred and fifty thousand troops to fight against
militancy and Pakistani forces achieved significant successes in Swat
and other areas.
Cameron Munter also acknowledged that there were problems in
intelligence to intelligence cooperation but the new CIA Chief and ISI
Chief are trying to address the relevant questions.
He said during the long drawn meeting, Secretary of State Hilary
Clinton and Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar dwelt at length
security as well as other issues.
The US Ambassador said the United States is working closely with
Pakistan and Afghanistan to try to find solution to questions relating
to future of Afghanistan, Pakistan’s role and its strategic interests.
Munter said Pakistan needs to have strong relationship with India to
deal with its long term challenges like unemployment, energy and water
issues. He expressed satisfaction that the foreign secretaries of
Pakistan and India have brought into their discussions tough questions
like law enforcement, business, tariff and visas.
To a question he said the United States is now focusing on
increasing civilian assistance for Pakistan and hoped that the
Government would pursue the tough path of reforms to attract investment
from the US and other countries.
Administrator USAID Dr. Rajiv Shah said his agency is focusing on
cost effectiveness and transparency to make sure that we get value from
every dollar invested in Pakistan.
He said the USAID is concentrating on projects that fulfil demands
of the local population like completion of a 220 kilometer road in
Waziristan.
Dr. Rajiv Shah said they have undertaken 1500 small scale
infrastructure projects like schools and clinics and provided 7500
scholarships.
Similarly, he said, the USAID is also focusing on health, education,
energy and economic growth. He said the United States provided fourteen
thousand metric tonnes of wheat seed for last year’s flood affected
areas leading to increased productivity. SANA
